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Professional Amateur

I don't know about that, I thought FC ended sort of poorly and DD ended more consistently... but I knew I'd love the movie as soon as it opened up with emotionally needy people pretending to be screwed up so they could get into support group meetings. I love that dark quirky stuff.

(I agree with the assessment about it reflecting the underlying anxieties and frustrations of white middle-class male Gen X types too.)

I agree about the ending partly. But its a US audience. You just can't give them a story where the bad guy wins (i.e. Brad Pitt takes over Edward Norton's body permanently). Maybe if it had been made in Korea. They seem to enjoy depressing endings over there.

"I want freedom for the full expression of my personality."- Mahatma Gandhi​

guud languager

I agree about the ending partly. But its a US audience. You just can't give them a story where the bad guy wins (i.e. Brad Pitt takes over Edward Norton's body permanently). Maybe if it had been made in Korea. They seem to enjoy depressing endings over there.

The American ending wasn't bad... but I actually liked the foreign [original] ending better... i.e., the depressing ending.

(I don't pick depressing endings purposefully over happy ones, I just want the one that ties the narrative and the emotional arc together most sensibly/coherently. And sometimes that is the "bad" ending.)

Did anyone see Dodgeball? The original ending for that would have been hilarious: The good guys lose.

Cool, I'm so glad someone else saw that movie and liked it. The guy who did the music (David Julyan?) is the one who usually does music for all of Christopher Nolan's movies, and I think the music went a long way towards the success of the movie, since in the hands of a different score writer the effects might have come across as cheesy in spots.

"Seven" is a weird movie. I shouldn't like it, but I do. A lot. I think it's the ambiance and the look and feel of it, it doesn't have as much obvious emotional arc to it ... or, rather, the character development arc is a very rational one... you have to perceive it more through the mental faculty.

Silence of the Lambs is one of my fave movies of all time. I can watch that one over and over, due to ambiance and character dev.

I always liked American Beauty a great deal as well, due to the characterizations.

aka Noddy

American Beauty was also very good. If I had the capacity to cry I might have . I really connected with Spacey's charachter on some level.

Since we seem to have similar tastes, do you like foreign movies? If so check out the aformentioned vengeance trilogy by Korean director Chanwook Park, if you haven't all ready. It isn't a trilogy in the traditional sense. It is really just three seperate stories that are essentially reflections on the futility of revenge.

"Lady Vengeance" is probably the most accessible and easy to watch, and I suspect the most enjoyable for a female audience.

"Oldboy" is my personal favorite, and in fact, as I was watching it, I felt like it might be one of the best I had ever seen, but the ending is just.........well....... FUCKED up! It's one of those "I can't believe they went there" kind of deals and it soured it for me until I got over the shock. But the disgust you might feel at it is probably contingent on your situation in life (trying not to give anything away).

"Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" is my least favorite but also very good.

***I hereby absolve myself of any movie recommendations that I make that any of you don't personally like, and will not reimburse you rental or purchase fees for the faulty recommendations

My foreign movie repertoire is very very limited. I used to watch lots of movies 3-10 years ago, but the last few years I have not seen much at all new, so my knowledge has not expanded that quickly.

I will keep these in mind, though, if I get a chance to just sit for a month and go through a list of "wanna see's."

Wait, wait, I did watch the American version of "The Grudge." It was not a very "good movie" but I loved the creep factor.

"Oldboy" is my personal favorite, and in fact, as I was watching it, I felt like it might be one of the best I had ever seen, but the ending is just.........well....... FUCKED up! It's one of those "I can't believe they went there" kind of deals and it soured it for me until I got over the shock. But the disgust you might feel at it is probably contingent on your situation in life (trying not to give anything away).

all right, now you've got me curious!
Not as bad as the end of "Requiem for a Dream," is it?
But geez, I squirmed through Hostel, this couldn't be worse.

I actually like quirky, questionable, or dark movies. It's funny when I talk to my INFP girlfriends, they all tend to shy away from anything with a dark ending, I wish they had more gumption sometimes; but to me the starkness of something makes it even more attractive ... IF it makes sense and not just trying to get a reaction. (I actually enjoy Giger art and other things that are unsettling, if it's done well.)

***I hereby absolve myself of any movie recommendations that I make that any of you don't personally like, and will not reimburse you rental or purchase fees for the faulty recommendations

aka Noddy

The Grudge was ok, but the original Ju-On was much better. Two other supurb and somewhat abstract ones are Uzumaki (Spiral) and Kairo (Pulse). Kairo had me riveted even though I'm not sure I totally understood it, it was like a weird ghost armeggeddon kind of thing where everyone starts killing themselves. It was a slow burn type of movie, very intense.

The ending of "Oldboy" was disturbing on a thematic level as well as a graphic one. Although it was graphic (not for the squeamish), that part of it wasn't what really got to me. But it might hit a little closer to home for some people than others.

guud languager

The Grudge was ok, but the original Ju-On was much better. Two other supurb and somewhat abstract ones are Uzumaki (Spiral) and Kairo (Pulse). Kairo had me riveted even though I'm not sure I totally understood it, it was like a weird ghost armeggeddon kind of thing where everyone starts killing themselves. It was a slow burn type of movie, very intense.

The ending of "Oldboy" was disturbing on a thematic level as well as a graphic one. Although it was graphic (not for the squeamish), that part of it wasn't what really got to me. But it might hit a little closer to home for some people than others.

Absurd Anti-hero.

if people liked the movie Fight Club, they should check out the other books by Chuck Palahniuk (the guy who wrote the Fight Club book that the movie was based on). the book my Palahniuk, "Rant" is probably one of my favorite books. just imagine, a world where humans are segregated by time instead of space (some people can only legally come out at night, some during the day), city-wide demolition derby's, rabies epidemics, time travel, and a guy who can read a womans vagina the way palm readers can read palms.

aka Noddy

if people liked the movie Fight Club, they should check out the other books by Chuck Palahniuk (the guy who wrote the Fight Club book that the movie was based on). the book my Palahniuk, "Rant" is probably one of my favorite books. just imagine, a world where humans are segregated by time instead of space (some people can only legally come out at night, some during the day), city-wide demolition derby's, rabies epidemics, time travel, and a guy who can read a womans vagina the way palm readers can read palms.

the book was awesome. what i've seen from the commercials, the movie doesn't look like it'll do it justice. as far as Fight Club book vs movie, in this case, i actually thought the movie was better. but, the book was really short (you could read it in a single sitting).

still searching

Just to say we all watched Fight Club last night. It was an interesting film but it didn't grip me like say the Matrix, which explores some similar themes. In a way, it was too intellectual for me - reminded me of Brechtian alienation where you're not meant to 'lose' yourself in the movie, you're meant to observe and analyse it from a distance. I don't watch that many movies and I do like to lose myself when I do. That's why the Matrix was so brilliant - you could be lost in the story but also thinking and analysing at the same time.

Loved the Mayhem project - mustn't write too much about that though because the paper informed me today that our government is investing £12 BILLION in monitoring every single phone call, email, forum and website frequented by all its citizens.

Having seen Donnie Darko last week, my daughter thinks you're all weirdos. I said you'd find that a compliment.

still searching

I loved the Darjeeling Limited. That was such a weird, non-American type of film. We watched it just before my daughter went to India, so it brings back happy memories. I just adored the character played by Owen Wilson and the mother was fantastic!

aka Noddy

Just to say we all watched Fight Club last night. It was an interesting film but it didn't grip me like say the Matrix, which explores some similar themes. In a way, it was too intellectual for me - reminded me of Brechtian alienation where you're not meant to 'lose' yourself in the movie, you're meant to observe and analyse it from a distance. I don't watch that many movies and I do like to lose myself when I do. That's why the Matrix was so brilliant - you could be lost in the story but also thinking and analysing at the same time.

Loved the Mayhem project - mustn't write too much about that though because the paper informed me today that our government is investing £12 BILLION in monitoring every single phone call, email, forum and website frequented by all its citizens.

Having seen Donnie Darko last week, my daughter thinks you're all weirdos. I said you'd find that a compliment.

Member

if people liked the movie Fight Club, they should check out the other books by Chuck Palahniuk (the guy who wrote the Fight Club book that the movie was based on). the book my Palahniuk, "Rant" is probably one of my favorite books. just imagine, a world where humans are segregated by time instead of space (some people can only legally come out at night, some during the day), city-wide demolition derby's, rabies epidemics, time travel, and a guy who can read a womans vagina the way palm readers can read palms.

Survivor was pretty good, it took me a while to get into it. Lullaby was awesome and very unexpected. Haunted was good too, a very misanthropic view of human nature. I like all of Palahniuks work, but Diary was probably my lease favorite (i haven't read Snuff yet, but from the description it doesn't sound very impressing)

"People don't want their lives fixed. Nobody wants their problems solved. Their dramas. Their distractions. Their stories resolved. Their messes cleaned up. Because what would they have left? Just the big scary unknown."

"When we don't know who to hate, we hate ourselves."

"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everybody I've ever known."

"The idea that I can't share my problems with other people makes me not give a shit about their problems."

"The most boring thing in the entire world is nudity. The second most boring thing is honesty."

"The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend."
"When you don't share your problems, you resent hearing the problems of other people."

"Your birth is a mistake you'll spend your whole life trying to correct."

The only reason I've managed to get my daughter to watch these movies is that she has been grounded for 2 weeks. I know I am such a fascist - it's really difficult for an INTP parent - we have to get all STJ on our kids, and I hate it. She'll be out in the ensuing weeks but I'll get another weird one and catch her with it when she's not looking.

Actually, she loves them. She's an ENTP and enjoys the intellectual content she gets from home. She then uses it to impress her friends and her teachers - makes her a bit different. So the weirder the better.

It's not my fault!

These are ones I just keep coming back to:
1. Bladerunner - A great examination of the ramifications of artificial intelligence and visually amazing
2. Heat - I love the fact that the lines are blurred between good and bad
3. Fight Club - A brilliant satire that addresses the frustration of the modern american gen x male. Let's just burn it all down and start over!
4. Donnie Darko - Sci Fi time travel story by way of teenage coming of age movie? Very thought provoking and intense
5. Dark City - Visually stunning and a fascinating look at the nature of memories and how they effect us. One of the most underrated movies of all time.

I tend to like movies that warp our perceptions of reality, and turn our expectations back on themselves. Some of my favorites:

Bladerunner - Also the Phillip K Dick book it was based on, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Silent Running - From when I was a kid. It was so sad when those little robots died.
Pi - Whoa. Just... whoa.
A Beautiful Mind - It's like my fantasy.
K-Pax - What is real?
Memento - This is a masterpiece of warped perception. This movie kept me off balance until the very "last" scene. A wonderful exploration of memory, experience, perception, and trust.
Donnie Darko - Messed up, wacked, crazy, insane, and totally cool.
Unbreakable - Another one of my fantasies.
12 Monkeys - Bruce Willis stuck in a strange loop. Need I say more?
Crouching Tiger - Staggeringly beautiful.
Iron Monkey - A wholesome morality play built into a high-energy Kung Fu movie.
Hero - This reminds me of Kurosawa's Rashomon where the same story is told from several different perspectives.
The Road Warrior - Twisted and cool.
Gattaca - Gives me the willies every time I watch it.
Equilibrium - Gives me the willies too. Contains some powerful scenes.
The Matrix - I wish I could erase my memory and watch this again for the first time.
V for Vendetta - Libertarian Revolution! Yaarrgghh!

aka Noddy

^ We probably would get along well. I have seen most of those and liked them immensly. The only two I haven't seen are "Silent Running" and "A Beautiful Mind". I have had them in my Netflix rental queue for a while now. Maybe I should move them up on the list.

Absurd Anti-hero.

i also like FusionKnights list (although i couple i haven't seen and i'd take K-pax off of it lol), and i completely forgot about Momento (how ironic, huh?). the funny part is, i actually work with a guy who has a similar condition to the guy in momento, and its not as charming and adventerous as the movie makes it seem.

Momento, Pi, Matrix, V for Vendetta, and A Veautiful Mind would all probably be on my top 10 or 15, but maybe not top 5.

aka Noddy

I loved Memento. It really made me think. I saw another movie that used a backward timeline like that. It was a French movie called "Irreversible". That movie was profound and profoundly disturbing. Parts of it were almost unwatchable (I had to fast forward through moments of it), but it etched a place for itself in my mind. It really made an impact but I can't recommend it unless you have a strong stomach.

that shadow behind lost

I cannot decide my top five.... and I don't want to put here names mentioned here already, so here are some of my other favorites

Quest for Fire
Johnny Got His Gun
Rosemary's Baby
The Tenant
Catch 22
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
In the Mouth of Madness
Week End

If not seen yet... I'd recommend them to at least try to watch

“I know the outer world as well as you do, and I judge it. You know nothing of my inner world, and yet you presume to judge that world. ”
― Aldous Huxley[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]."
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"The duke had a mind that ticked like a clock and, like a clock, it regularly went cuckoo." Terry Pratchett

"Since when have I been so obsessed by the idea of becoming a fellow citizen to the point that I’ve killed my own personality?" Ergo Proxy

Member

The Big Lebowski -- "Hey, This is a private residence, man."
Fight Club -- "The first rule is I can't talk about it. And the second rule is.."
Blade Runner -- "Too bad she won't live. But then again who does?"
The Matrix -- "Want a cookie?"
Silence of the Lambs -- "I'm having a friend for dinner."

Runner Up: Fandango -- "Look, if it'll make it easier, l'll jump first
so as you can watch how it's done."

Active Member

Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.There is no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt.Bless the mind too small for doubt.
Knowledge is power, hide it well.
For those who seek perfection there can be no rest on this side of the grave.
If a job´s worth doing it´s worth dying for.
Mercy is a sign of weakness.
Brave are they who know everything yet fear nothing.
Happiness is a delusion of the weak.
Pain is an illusion of the senses, despair an illusion of the mind.

Knifed

There used to be a MovieZone on personalityzone.com, where they always did film critics and included how much each temperament would like that movie. I found it very helpful but sadly they have changed the website.

Stab-counter
y=1.000.000
x= ~y+π+y^y+number of posts+number of PMs Cognisant has not responded to within one weekTotal stabs=Unacceptably high number exceeding infinity
(I hate you IB and Cognisant and IB and you especially IB)

The text above the duck says: So that you are also safe yesterday. TIMEPOLICE

is a ze

I recently recommended Beat the Devil and Touch of Evil. They're the best of film noir, maybe even better than the Maltese Falcon. The 1st is a comedy. The 2nd was one of Orson Welles' favs. Charlton Heston plays a Mexican. I mean, really.

If all things become natural to man when he gets used to them, the only thing that remains natural is the wish for simple and unchanged things. La Boétie ​